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I took a picture of my pup with a $5 bill clearly visible in his mouth, put it in an eye catching frame and wrote "My First Tip!" on it. My pup actually looks guilty which makes it perfect. Anyway, that's my subtle way of letting folks know tipping is not offensive, and doing so with humor.
BTW-that "first tip" was from my sister-requested by me in lieu of paying me, with the amount chosen as a suggestion of an appropriate tip amount. Geez-put into words it sounds so calculating!

I took a picture of my pup with a $5 bill clearly visible in his mouth, put it in an eye catching frame and wrote "My First Tip!" on it. My pup actually looks guilty which makes it perfect. Anyway, that's my subtle way of letting folks know tipping is not offensive, and doing so with humor.
BTW-that "first tip" was from my sister-requested by me in lieu of paying me, with the amount chosen as a suggestion of an appropriate tip amount. Geez-put into words it sounds so calculating!

I hope it's OK that I'm bumping this thread up. I know it's old(er), but I registered because I wanted to share my experiences with this tipping matter.
I started grooming about 20 years ago. When I started out, times (aka money) were tough. Some weeks it was extremely disturbing to see what the total income was and wonder how the heck we were going to keep our bills (business and home) paid, so tips (even $1-$2) were so appreciated and could really add up during a busy week.
After a few short years, times got better and money (while not flowing freely) was in a much more comfortable position. Tips went from something that would make or break our grocery bill to a luxury.
Shortly after this time, a local charity that we always supported in whatever way we could got hit hard financially and needed donations desperately. We realized we could do without those extra dollars. Even though I'm deeply opposed to posting signs, we did post a sign that stated something along the lines of, "For the entire month of (I believe it was May), ALL tips will be donated to (X) charity to help with their recent financial burdens." Then we did what we promised and raised quite a nice sum of money for the charity. We were happy, the charity was happy, and the customers were happy. $1-$2 tippers stretched it to $5, and $5 tippers went to $10, etc.
After that, people who never tipped before tipped, and continued to do so even if it was just a dollar here, a dollar there, etc. We were pretty floored at their generosity. People are more apt to tip, I believe, if they believe you're sharing that luxury just a little bit.
This isn't set in stone, but it certainly was an eye-opener for us. Anyone struggling with this issue might consider this avenue. Some charities will give a person recognition in some small way if they donate a certain amount. If this is something someone might be interested in, it might be neat to state that a certain percentage of tips go to "X" charity and when the tips collect a large enough sum to be worthwhile, gladly accept that recognition. One local charity will take any sized donation and place your name (not the amount) on their monthly newsletter. A person could easily put something like "From the owners, staff, and clients of (business name)", so the tippers will feel as though they get a touch of recognition, too!

Also, another note on tips. Certain cultures and certain age groups (mainly the elderly) feel as though tipping the owner is an insult to their business and their income ("you must be struggling. Here, have some pity cash") and won't tip an owner no matter what, which is absolutely fine.

I hope these thoughts and ideas are helpful to someone, somewhere out there in internet land!

I have a client that won't tip unless I am working elsewhere. A friend let me work from their pet store for a couple months last year while we were in process of moving. She topped every 2 weeks but got back to working from home and alas, no tip. I do have to say that she does give lovely Christmas presents though